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Dave Krieger: John Elway near a hard place with Tim Tebow plans

Broncos coach John Fox, vice president John Elway, and general manager Brian Xanders go over the team's plans for the offseason and for next season on Monday. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)

Perhaps the most telling testimony to Tim Tebow's vast celebrity is that he made John Elway's first season as an NFL executive an afterthought.

In fact, about the only time Elway got any attention this season was when he ran afoul of Tebow's legion of admirers by failing to hold a ceremony awarding him the keys to the franchise.

But the titanium backbone we saw so often in Elway the player evidently is still there. Nowhere is it more obvious than in his evaluation of Tebow, which continues to be smart and moderate and uninfluenced by the legion of loudmouths on both sides who want him to make a premature decision for the long term.

His announcement Monday committing to Tebow as the starter going into training camp next season — but going no further — was a perfect example. It won't be enough for Tebow's ardent fans, and it will be too much for his strident critics. But based on the evidence to date, it is the right stance to take.

Tebow was a great story this season, but he completed only 46.5 percent of his passes. That has to improve.

"We're hired to put the best football team on the field and to win football games," Elway explained, in case anyone had forgotten.

"Obviously, he's got a great following and there's a lot to Tim Tebow, not only what he is as a football player but what he is as a man. And I think that's why he has such a great following, is both, because he's a great role model. But the bottom line is ... to put the best football players on that field that give us the best chance to win."

When I mentioned to Elway that basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West has often said that being an executive is harder than being a player because of the lack of direct control, he nodded in recognition.

"There's a lot to that. Especially being a quarterback, you have so much control because you're touching that football down-in and down-out and it's such an important position.

"With my experience in the Arena Football League, I got a little bit of a taste, so I think I got a lot of my frustrations out while I was going through that, realizing that once the ball kicks off, you really don't have much control.

"For me, though, it's the next best thing, to be able to have some of the control outside the lines. You have none inside. But to be involved and be a part of a team and be a part of the process to help get this team back to where Pat (Bowlen) wants it, I think it's a great thing and I enjoy doing that."

He paused.

"Now, I will say this: Being in my position is a heck of a lot better on the body than the old job."

Elway doesn't pretend he enjoyed the hectoring he took on Twitter and elsewhere this season, but unlike Dan Marino, who got a taste of the workload as an NFL executive and quickly turned to the cushy life of a TV talking head, Elway is all in.

"There's no question we had some tough situations this year, obviously, with the quarterback situation," he said. "But I think for the most part I enjoyed that. I learned a tremendous amount."

His commitment is to make the right calls for Bowlen, the owner who raised the Vince Lombardi trophy 14 years ago and declared, "This one's for John." Elway seems determined to return the favor.

He continues to believe that Super Bowls are won from the pocket and he continues to acknowledge that Tebow is not now the pocket passer he will have to become if the Broncos are to return to the ranks of the elite.

But he also appreciates Tebow's competitive spirit and will to win. He's open to the possibility that Tebow can train himself to do the things he can't do yet. And he intends to help him this offseason by conveying as much of the knowledge he gleaned during 16 years in the league as he can.

"Believe me, I'm hopeful," Elway said. "Anytime you can get a franchise guy and a quarterback that can be your guy for 10 to 12 years, that's what you want as an organization. We're hopeful that Tim's that guy. We know, obviously, that we have some work to do, and he knows that too, but he made great strides this year."

Despite the inexplicable certainty on both sides of the debate, we don't know yet if Tebow is the right man for that job long term. Most everyone who has come into contact with him, including Elway, hopes he is.

What we do know with more certainty than we did a year ago is that Elway is the right man for his job. Despite tidal waves of public opinion washing over the team's complex at Dove Valley, Elway remains focused on a single goal — getting the Broncos back to competing for championships.

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.